Apparel collar



P. F. HEssE APPAREL COLLAR Filed March l5, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l 2 eetSheets-Sh Il if,

Mar

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7. t 27, 192 Sep Patented` Sept. 27, 1927.

` umrEDsi-ATES iPATENT 'l oFFIcE.

v'LJAUL '.F. HESSE, 0F 'PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND.

APPAREL COLLAR.

Application filed ,March 15, 1926. Serial No. 94,847.

VThis invention .relates :to `apparelcollars fand, .particularly to ,the.socalled .soft .turnecbdown collars whichhave a sufficient degreeof,inherentstiffness to renderthem .self-supporting so that lthey maybeworn without starching;

VMost collars of this type are made np either of several layers .oflfabric stitched together, .or of ,strips .of multiply fabric having .the.several 'plies interwoven with binder threads. rThe former .type offolding collar has never vbeen .entirely satisfac- .tory .owing `.to itsflimsy appearance andinsufficient inherent .stiffness to prevent fromwrinkling .and wilting under the effect of 'perspiration when worn.Multiply fabric `collars possess the necessary inherent stiffness andself-supporting characteristics and. have become extremely popular forgentlemens .weaigfbut thisv latter type of collar is relatively.'expensiveI to manufacture and must .be sold ata .considerably higherprice than Vthe multilayer type .of collar, either of the soft orstarched variety. It kis. therefore one object of the present 'inventionto provide .a .collar ldevoid 4of the flimsy character of the ordinarymulti-layer .soft collar .and having all theattributes of .the morepopular multiply collar, yet capable .of being manufactured atv .muchless cost than theflatter. I' f l i To provideV` the improv` dcollaryof-thetype specifiedY the presentfinvent-ion contem- .plates theuse of a,- peculiar character rofweave to produce a.y relatively thickyet lpliable fabric, which, when incorporated inv the. collar, givesVthe required degree of stiffness thereto so that it will nbeselflsupporting without additional reinforcing means and also capable ofresisting the wilting .tendlency `from dampness l The followingspecification describes several methods of carrying out the invention,.andvv the accompanying drawings illustrate Vthe preferrledembodimentthereof. VIn the drawings Fig. l is a planv'iewshow'ing a collar-ofconventional shape in fits fla'tform, as illustrative Yof one embodimentof' 'the' inven- ,tion-5v f -V Fig.. 2 is .an enlarged sectional viewtaken on -line 2-'2 of Fig. 1 and illustrating .a preferred method ofjoining the two foldingl parts of the collar, and also themannerof.selvedge edge i' or the present type of collar comprisesa necki band 2and an outer portion or :exposed panel 3 adapted to fold down around theneclrband. The complete collar 'may be wovengin. .one piece, butpreferably itis made up of two strips of fabric, onefor the neclrband 2and the other for ythe outer panel 3f. lWhen .constructed in two piecesthe neckband 2 is preferably woven with a Atwo-'ply strip-it, Lextending along its upper edge,'whereby vto provide a reentrantchannelpr y opening 5 into which is inserted .the y the votherv strip offabric which f yforms the'outer panel 3 of the collar, see-Fig. 2.ylVith this construction of .the

'collar .the double-ply portion of theneckband. 2 .overlaps bothv sidesofthe selvedge Yedge ofthe panel 3 and. is secured. thereto by severalrows of stitches indicated at 8.

Itis desirable yto provide means to adapt .the outer' panel 3V of thecollar to fold ,smoothly and evenly von a line contiguous to its joinderwith the neclrband 2, and forV thispurpose any suitable fold line orfoldguide may beincorporated in the fabric ofthe collar. Apreferredmethod Vof providingv lthe fold line `is described and illustrated lin`my pending application for U. S. Patent Serial No. 518,531, filedNovember ,29, 19,21. The invention of this prior application consists inproviding a fold line -constituted by .a twill weave extending in a nar.

vrow str-ip or band 9 longitudinally of the up'- per .edge of the outerpanel 3. of the collar. In this twill-strip the threads are woven on .abias to provide a more flexible folding portion, which, nevertheless, isconstituted by the same number of threads or yarns as the body ofthecollar so that the `strength and wearing lquality ofv the fabric ispreserved.' In other words, the fabric is not weakened or reduced byeliminating any of the threads and therefore the completed collarwillnot deteriorate unduly from wear or from the repeated action of foldingor bending it.

As another means for providing the fold line or guide for the collar Imay incorporate in the fabric an enlarged cord 10, as illustrated inFig. 3 of the present drawings and more fully described in my UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 1,545,187, dated July 7, It is to beunderstood, however, that the method. or means for providing the foldline which extends longitudinally of the top of the main or outer panel3 of the collar is not essential to the present invention, as anypreferred practice may be adopted for this purpose.

As before stated, the present invention resides in the peculiarcharacter of the weave of the fabric employed in the manufacture ofcollars of the type specified, and Fig. 4 illustrates diagrammatically apreferred method of intermeshing the yarns in the weave to secure thedesired result; In this view the reference characters 12 and 13designate the Warp ends or yarns running longitudinally of the fabric,and longitudinally of the strip or strips which form the collar; whilethe lateral weft or lilling threads are designated 14. To provide afabric of the required thickness and stiifness I incorporate thereinalternate tight and slack warp threads intermeshed with the weft yarnsin any suitable order and functioning in the manner as later explained.

In accordance with the preferred character of weave as illustrated inFig. 4 of the drawings, the tight warp ends 12 are combined in pairs,or, in other words, woven double to increase the bulk and thickness ofthe fabric. Each pair of tight warp ends 12 may be considered as asingle yarn` however, for in some instances I may employ a single end ofcoarser or heavier yarn in place of the two ends. In either case thesingle or double tight warp ends 12 alternate with the slack warp ends13 which are woven relatively loose, as indicated in Fig. 4. The picksof vfilling 14 are preferably interwoven with the warp ends in alternateorder, that is under and over the alternate tight and slack Warp ends,but the orde'r of the weave may be varied to some extent if desired. Itwill be understood that Fig. 4 illustrates the weave in open mesh, thatis with the yarns widely spaced apart, whereas as a matter of fact inthe finished fabric the yarns will be woven lclose together and tightlycompacted. y

Fig. 5 illustrates the weave in cross-section or profile and shows thefilling or weft threadsY 14 more closely spaced, although not beaten -upinto the relation which they assumel in the finished fabric. This viewmore clearly illustrates the arrangement of the threads in the weave,and indicates the manner in which the tight warp threads cooperate withthe slack Warp ends to give the body and thickness to the cloth. It willbe observed by reference to this view that the slack warp threads 13pass over and under the weft threads 14 in loops which run substantiallyperpendicular to the face of the cloth, while the tight warp ends 12 aredrawn taut to separate and support the weft threads in two distinctplanes, one on each face of the goods. The two tight warp threads 12 areshown in Fig. 5 as disposed one above the other, and this issubstantially the position that the two ends of each pair assume whenthe filling is beaten up at the fell of the cloth during the weavingoperation.

Fig. 6 is a highly magnified view illustrating more accurately thedisposition and arrangement of the threads in the finished fabric. Itwill be observed from this view that the weft threads 14 are beaten upinto close juxtaposition and that they lie in two opposite parallelplanes corresponding substantially to the two opposite faces of thecloth. vThe slack warp yarns y13 are looped back and forth over thesetwo sets of weft ends 14 in such manner that they form .iioats7extending at substantially rightangles to the face of the fabric.Extending longitudinally of the fabric and parallel with its oppositefaces are the tight warp ends 12 which form an intermediate separatingmedium for ther two sets of filling threads on the opposite faces of thefabric. That is to say, the tight Warp ends 12 provide a sort of fillerfor the fabric to space the weft ends in two opposite planes whereby to.give thickness and body to the cloth. It Y has been noted that thetight warp ends are preferably woven double in order to increase theireffect in separating the weft ends to thicken the fabric, but in othercases I may employ a coarser or heavier 'yarn for the tig it Warp ends.For example, wherel I have obtained most satisfactory results by weavingthe tight Warp ends double with a 26/2 yarn, I may employ a single endof 13/21 yarn to obtain substantially the same resu t.

It will be noted from Fig. 6 that the surface of the cloth has a more 0rless Aribbed.

'or corded appearance, somewhat like a piqu fabric, due to the alinementof the rows of loops of the slack warp threads 13 across the face of thegoods, this effect being somewhat exaggerated in the drawing. Inpractice, while the fabric shows this ribbed effect on its face in itsrough or unfinished state, when the cloth is calendered or ironed itssurface will become substantially smooth.

Vith the preferred character of weave as above explained the fabric isgiven a'greater thickness and whereby itis equalgif not superior, totheusual ymultiply fabrics l as heretofore used for coll-ars of lthepresent type. n the other hand, present Vtype of fabric is 'much moreeconomical to weave,

'due te the less number of vwarp and weft threads required to the linchVin the goods, land also because the weave is much simplerandless'diiiicult to produce. 'YV-here in multij whole number of endsrequired. Moreover,

by employing coarser yarns I save approximately per cent in the cost ofthe fine counts used in multiply fabrics. As another advantage, th-epresent weave can be produced with less care and attention on the partof the weaver, and less liability of breaks, requiring piecing up, sothat there are fewer stoppages in the weaving and consequently a higherrate of production can be maintained. The only change required from theordinary weaving process is to provide separate sets of warpsvdeliveringfrom different beams, `with one set maintained under a maximum tensionand the other set allowed to float more or less loosely through thefabric.

lt has been stated that the improved collar illlustrated in Fig. l maybe made either from a single piece of fabric, or from two strips joinedtogether at their longitudinal edges as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 ofthe drawings. The fabric for the ,collar may be stretched over conicalor fluted rolls duringy the weaving process, as is the usualV practice,to impart to 1t a curvilinear set..

to adapt the collar to fold on a curvilinear line, whereby it willassume a smootherl and neater appearance in use. Where the collar ismade in one piece the whole fabric may be of 'the improved weave hereinVdescribed, but in other cases when made in two pieces the parts `may beof different weaves. As

vshown in Fig. l, the finished collar isvprovided with the usualbutton-holes 15 and its edge may be hemmed or bound with an overlyingstrip in accordance with the common practice. y

lt will be observed that my invention provides A`an improved apparelcollar of the type specified wherein vthe fabric has the required bodyand stiffness peculiar to multiply fabric collars, to render it capableof being folded smoothly and to be worn unstarched while yet preservingits neat vand unwrinkled appearance. Furthermore, my improved collar canbe manufactured by r a simple weaving' process for the fabric,`

fabrics it is necessary to weave. ap- 'proximatelyQl-" ends of war-p and104 to which', produc-ing the desirable 4and vnecessary attributes of amultiply fabric collar, is, at thesa-me timefmuch more eco- 'nomical tomanufacture. improved collar .also possesses lthe `quality -o'f greaterldu- '1" rabil'ity and `wzl-lil .not deteriorate rapidly 'from'reoea-ted foldinns or from continued y h y n viilear.`

lVhile I havefherein described and -illustrated :a preferred embodimentyof the innenti-on, vit will be understood that various modlisations maybe made both in themeth- :od .of weaving the fabric :and inthe manneroif formingthe collar therefromf without departing ifromfthe spirit orscope .of the inin this respect, I claim:

1. An apparel collar constitutedby one or more strips of single plyfabric composed of warp and weft threads of substantially the same size,the weft threads being disposed in two separate planes on the oppositesides of the fabric with those in each plane arranged in closejuxtaposition, the warp threads being interwoven with lthe weft threads.with certain of said warp threads drawn tight to separate the weftthreads intor the two planes, and certain other warp threads being leftslack and looped back and forthl around the weft threads with portionsextending substantiallyy -perpendicular to the face of the fabricwhereby the structure of the Weave imparts body and thickness to thefabric to` inherently self-supporting them into the fabric with portionsof saidA loose warp threads extending substantially perpendicular to theface of the fab-ric, and the whole forming astructure of such thicknessas to give' body and stiffness to the collar to render it inherentlyself-supporting. n n

3. As a new article of manufacture, an apparel collar constituted by oneor more strips of single ply fabric having a structure composed of weftthreads and warp threads of substantially the same size, with the weftthreads separated into two planes and disposed in close juxtaposition onopposite faces of the cloth by means of tight' warp threads extendingbetween the twoV l so mention. Therefore, without limiting myself IDOsets of weft threads of the opposite planes and serving as aliller forthe cloth, and other Warp threads looped back and forth around theindividual weft threads of the two sets in the opposite planes wherebyto bind them into the structure and provide a fabric having suliicientbody and thickness to render the collar inherently self-supportlng.

a. As a new article of manufacture, an apparel collar of the soft foldedtype con stituted by one or more strips of single ply fabric comprisingWarp and weft threads of substantially the saine size, .the Warp threadsbeing` alternately tight and slack -and intermeshed over and underalternate weft threads with the tight Warp threads separating the latterinto two distinctplanes and serving as a filler for the fabric, the weftthreads in both planes beingarranged in close juxtaposition. on oppositefaces of the fabric With the slack Warp threads looped back and forththereover and all of Vthe threads compacted into a rclose Weave toimpart body and stiffness to the vfabric whereby to render the collarinherently self-,supporting Without starch or other added stiffeningmeans. a

In testimony' whereof I affix Iny signature.

PAULv F. HESSE.

